


Books And Boyfriends

by cruisingforcruiserweights, heelnev



Category: Professional Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, Mature rating is for future chapter(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-16
Updated: 2017-08-16
Packaged: 2018-12-16 06:29:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11823114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cruisingforcruiserweights/pseuds/cruisingforcruiserweights, https://archiveofourown.org/users/heelnev/pseuds/heelnev
Summary: They should really be studying, but unfortunately, the solutions to relationship problems can rarely be found in books... not that they were reading them anyway.





	Books And Boyfriends

**Author's Note:**

> This glorious mess was a collaborative effort by heelnev and cruisingforcruiserweights and we regret nothing.

Wade was supposed to be working. His professor had handed out a group assignment and was expecting it to be completed by the end of that class. Zack, his partner, was in the process of searching through his notes to find the answers to the questions, and Wade should be doing the same. He should be  _concentrating_. And to his credit, he was.

Just not on the right thing.

Wade was focused on something on the other side of the room. From where he sat, he could see Neville, hunched over his notebook and flipping through the pages. He was focused, clearly in his element.  _What a fucking nerd._  Wade thought fondly to himself. And sitting next to him was his class partner for the day… Austin Aries.

Christ, fucking  _Aries_. He was probably one of the douchiest people that Wade ever had the misfortune of knowing. He tried to get along with him for Neville’s sake (since Neville was so keen on ‘giving him a chance’, and Wade knew damn well that telling Neville ‘no’ was practically impossible for him), but more often than not they were at each other’s throats. Him and Roode were some of the most annoying people on campus.

Good God,  _Roode_. Aries’ little sidekick. He wasn’t in this class, thank  _God_ , but he could always been seen with Aries outside of it. How they even got to know each other was a mystery to Wade -– and he wasn’t really interested in finding out –- but they were perfect for each other in all the wrong ways. Both obnoxious, both a little sleazy, and both a thorn in Wade’s side.

Although he had to admit, Roode wasn’t nearly as much of a pain as Aries was. He was a jackass, but he wasn’t as bad. He was slightly more tolerable. There was something about Aries, however, that just rubbed him the wrong way, and Wade knew exactly what it was.

He had the most obvious crush on Neville.

He was never subtle with his flirting. Wade couldn’t remember the last time he and Neville arrived to class and Aries  _wasn’t_  totally eyeing him up. Sometimes there would even be a little comment along with the ogling. Just thinking about some of the things that he was probably saying while he and Neville were paired up for the day was enough to make Wade’s skin crawl.

Oh, and just what was Aries doing now? Neville looked to be having some trouble finding what he was looking for, but luckily his ‘partner’ was right there to help him out. He leaned in far too close for Wade’s liking and pointed out the answer on the page, his hand  _coincidentally_  brushing against Neville’s in the process. Their faces were practically touching, and Wade was waiting for Neville to back away, but he… didn’t. He just  _smiled_. Wade felt like he was going to puke.

“Wade!” Wade was brought back to reality by the sound of Zack calling his name, a shake to his arm accompanying his voice. “Are you listening to me?”

“I never am,” he replied bluntly.

“That’s true,” Zack sighed with a roll of his eyes. “I answered one of the questions. Now it’s your turn. Can you please focus?”

“Focus? Yeah, I can do that.” That was a lie. Wade snatched the worksheet from Zack and read the question he was given. Luckily, it was one that he knew pretty well, so he didn’t have to do much searching to find the answer.

As he was scribbling down his response, his eyes flicked up from the page towards Neville and Aries again. God, and now Neville was  _laughing_  at something he had said. Was it really that funny? Was Aries’ cheap, dirty humor really enough to amuse Neville that much? There’s no way. No fucking way.

Wade put the paper down on the desk a little more forcefully than he intended, looking to Zack. “Can I ask you something real quick?”

“What’s up?”

“This might seem like a random question, but I need you to answer me honestly.”

“You know I always do, bro.”

“Alright then, who do you like better, me or Aries?”

“I–what?” Zack’s brow furrowed. He clearly hadn’t expected a question like that. “That’s… an interesting thing to ask. Where’s this coming from all of a sudden?”

“Just answer me.”

“Well… you, of course.” Zack shrugged. “I’ve known you for years. Austin and I have barely spoken since the start of the semester.” He lowered his voice. “If we’re being honest, you’re much nicer.”

“So you like me better, huh?” Wade glared across the room again. “If I’m more likeable, then why the hell does Neville seem to like  _him_  more than me?”

“Wait, wait, this is about Neville?”

“Yes,” he admitted. “Christ, just look at them…”

Zack followed Wade’s gaze. It looked like Aries had backed off, at least for now. He was now leaning back in his seat. “So what? What are they doing that’s so bad?” He clearly didn’t seem to think this was a big deal.

“Aries is acting like a total creep! He was so close to Nev before…” The smug look on Aries’ face made it obvious that he knew exactly what he was doing–that he knew damn well that Wade was watching all of this unfold and growing more and more annoyed by the second.  _What a scumbag_. “And he was saying some stupid shit to him before, too. Making him laugh.”

“So?”

“ _So_?” Wade repeated.

“That’s what I said. Bro, are you worried that Nev is replacing you with Austin or something? Because you know he’d never do that.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“You’ve known each other for awhile now, haven’t you? Hell, you got closer to him faster than you did to me, and I’ve known you since grade school! Just because he’s making friends with someone else doesn’t mean he’s replacing you.”

“Are you sure that they’re… just friends?”

“Ooh, is that your main concern?” Zack clicked his tongue. “You’re worried that Nev might start dating him?”

“He deserves better than a slimeball like  _him_. He deserves to be with someone who will actually treat him right and not constantly drool over him like he’s eye candy. Someone like…”  _Me_. “…I don’t know, just not Aries.”

“You really care about him, don’t you?”

“Of course I do. I worry that there’s no one out there good enough for my little Nev, y'know what I mean?”  _Except for me_. "I’m like a concerned parent.“ Wade tried to joke about the situation, but it didn’t help him feel any better.

“Well…” Zack sighed, taking the worksheet and starting to read the next question. As he searched through his notes, he continued, “I know how you feel. I’ve had friends who pretty much stopped talking to me after they started dating someone. It sucks that they seem to drop all their friendships in favor of this one person. But I really don’t think you need to worry. Nev’ll be fine. He won’t do anything stupid.”

“You really think so?”

“Yeah. He’s a good guy. If he and Aries actually do get together–key word,  _if_ –then he won’t abandon you or the rest of us. Now, can we please get back to focusing on the work? I understand that you’re worried, but we’ve got stuff to do.”

“If you insist…” It was nice to get Zack’s input, but Wade still felt uneasy. His issues with Neville and Aries getting together went beyond worrying about being replaced. He knew the type of person that Aries was. There was no way he was going to treat Neville the way he deserved to be treated. Neville was his best friend. He deserved more than to constantly be on the receiving end of inappropriate jokes.

Wade knew he had to act. There was a chance he would miss his opportunity to confess his own feelings. If he didn’t say anything soon, then there was a possibility that he would never be able to.

He needed to let Neville know how he really felt.

And he would be damned if he let some douchebag fratboy try and stop him.

———

As soon as the clock hit 5pm, signalling the end of the period (and the end of the day for Wade in particular), said douchebag fratboy excused himself, but not before he had leaned in to whisper one last remark in Neville’s ear. 

He tilted his head to one side in order to flash Wade a knowing smirk as he did so, clearly taking great pleasure in taunting him, leaving Wade seething as he made his way over to Neville’s desk once he had gone, and wondering what it was that he had said to make Neville turn so red in the face.

“You okay?” he asked, having to resist the temptation to demand to know what it was that Aries had been so keen to keep from him.

“Yeah!” Neville replied a little too quickly, as he busied himself with packing away his books.

 _Dammit, Wade_. He thought to himself as he waited patiently for the other.  _You better think of something quick, or you’re going to lose him._

“So, you got any plans for the weekend?” Neville asked Wade as they exited the classroom, slinging his messenger bag over his shoulder. “You’re done for the week, aren’t you?”

“Yeah, thank  _Christ_.” Wade breathed a sigh of relief. He was lucky enough to avoid having any classes on Fridays, a luxury that most of his friends unfortunately didn’t have.

“Lucky. I wish I didn’t have to come in tomorrow. You’ll be sleeping late and doing fun shit while I’ll be here slowly dying of boredom…” Neville began to make his way down the hallway.

“Oh, come on, you’re acting like you have no free time.” Wade followed and nudged him with his elbow. “You have Mondays off, which I don’t. And besides, aren’t Fridays your shortest days? You’re done by, like, two. That’s nothing.”

“Yes, but I start at  _eight_!” Neville complained. “I don’t care how early I’m done. I’m waking up at practically the crack of dawn.”

“Whatever you say, Nev.” Wade shoved his hands in his pockets. He was used to him complaining about silly things, somehow it never seemed irritating when he did it, he always managed to find some way to sound endearing even when he was bitching about nothing in particular. “Anyway, I don’t really have much planned, but that could change…” he hesitated for a moment, before finally thinking ‘ _Fuck it’,_ and pushing himself to make the first move. “Maybe you and I could do something?”

“Oh? Like what?” Neville seemed to perk up, giving Wade hope that all was not lost, just yet.

“We could just go hang out somewhere once you finish up? Whatever you’re in the mood for is fine with me.”

“Well I’ll probably be tired as hell and desperately in need of a nap after my  _grueling_  day, but I can force myself to stay awake if it means spending time with you.” Neville grinned, shooting him a wink.

“You’re so dramatic,” Wade quipped, a smile beginning to creep across his face before suddenly freezing up, stopping in his tracks. Neville followed suit, quirking an eyebrow up at him.

“What the hell are you doing? You okay?”

Wade didn’t pay attention to what Neville was saying. He was more focused on who was standing not too far away from them by the front exit to the building, arms crossed and leaning against the wall. He was the last person who Wade wanted to see at that moment.

 _Roode_.

Wade knew exactly what was going to happen if he and Neville made their way towards this exit. It happened all the damn time: Roode would stand around where he knew they would be and serve as a lookout of sorts. Then he’d tip off Aries (who was never too far off) and they’d swoop in with their usual brand of douchebaggery.

Any plans that Wade and Neville had made would always end up falling through because these bastards would always propose something ‘cooler’ that ‘all of them’ (translation: only Aries and Neville, as Roode would conveniently have something he ‘needed to do’ and Wade would much rather chew broken glass than go anywhere with them) could do instead. Wade gave them credit for even inviting him along in the first place, but he knew it wasn’t out of the kindness of their hearts or anything. It was because they wanted to rub the fact that he would be alone in his face, Neville choosing them over him.

“Not again…” Wade grumbled under his breath, glaring daggers in Roode’s direction. He quickly looked to Neville, putting a hand on his shoulder and spinning him around before leading him back the way they came. “Y’know what? I actually parked my car in the lot closest to the  _other_  exit. It makes much more sense to go out that way instead, don’t you think?”

“What?” Neville was even more confused. “Wade, you got a parking spot in the front. I remember you gloating about it to me earlier before class. Why are we going this way?”

“Well, uh… we need the exercise.” He continued to push Neville away, looking back over his shoulder to see if Roode had noticed their quick escape. It didn’t look like he did. He didn’t seem to notice that they were there. If anything, he looked a little annoyed, like he was growing fed up with waiting.  _What a dumbass…_  Wade breathed a sigh of relief.

The two of them made their way around to the side exit, continuing to throw ideas for hang-out activities back and forth as they walked, all the while Wade feeling quite proud of his ability to escape the trap laid by the duo that had come to be known as the ‘Dirty Heels’ around campus.

 _I mean seriously, how the hell do you even earn a name like that, and who on earth would be proud of that achievement?_ Wade told himself that he didn’t  _want_ to know, but still found himself conjuring up images in his mind, each more debauched and heinous than the last.

His sense of triumph didn’t last long, unfortunately, as despite his certainty that Aries couldn’t have been far from where Roode had been guarding the front exit, they turned a corner only to find themselves face-to-face with the sleezeball himself. 

Had this been his plan all along? To force them down a less crowded corridor, to lie in wait for an ambush?  _They’re evolving_. Wade found himself screaming internally.

Aries flashed them both a grin and pushed his aviator shades back up the bridge of his slightly crooked nose with a forefinger.  _If only I had been the one to break his stupid nose._ Wade thought as he forced himself to smile in return, for Neville’s sake, who had already greeted him with far more enthusiasm than Wade was capable of in this situation.

“Hey! I thought you had to run? Something  _terribly_  important you had to attend to, as I recall?” Neville remarked, eyeing the stack of papers that Aries was holding at his side with curiosity.

“Oh, it was, I  _assure_  you.” Aries replied, presenting Neville with what appeared to be a flier, featuring several gaudy typefaces advertising a frat party, printed on alternating fluorescent pink and green paper. “Hot off the presses, quite literally.” His gaze was fixed firmly on Neville, with not even an attempt to disguise his disinterest in including Wade in their conversation.

He gestured in the direction of the door that he had just exited, one of the many entrances into the main campus library, “Just had a couple hundred copies made, you think that’ll be enough?” he asked with mock-indecision.

“I’m sure that will be fine.” Neville replied with a laugh, how he managed to find anything that came out of that moron’s mouth amusing, Wade had absolutely no clue.

“Gimme one, then.” he piped up, holding his hand out expectantly and doing his best attempt at an eager grin, which Aries saw right through almost immediately, clearly hesitant to do so, and only grudgingly handing one over in order to not appear spiteful in front of Neville.

“It starts at 9. You’re in, right Nev-Nev?” Aries continued, returning his full attention to Neville, causing Wade’s fake smile to immediately morph into a scowl.

 _‘Nev-Nev’? Who the hell does he think he is?_ Neville wasn’t some sort of  _pet_.

“Of course-oh…” Neville trailed off as his eyes scanned the flier, before appearing to fall on the date printed in bold at the bottom. Wade scrutinised his own flier, and sure enough, it was tomorrow night, the same time as Wade had only moments ago suggested that Neville come over to his dorm to watch trashy horror movies.  _Goddammit._

Neville turned to look back at Wade, his expression wracked with guilt, as it always seemed to be when he felt like he was letting someone down. A feeling that Wade was fortunately unburdened by, when it came to Aries. “The thing is, we kinda already had plans…”

“Yeah, sorry man.” Wade stated, without a hint of actual remorse. “Though I’m sure you and Roode will find a way to have fun without us.” He smirked as he saw the other’s lip curl a little in irritation.

“That’s a shame.” Aries replied, in a very measured way that suggested he was doing his best to remain calm in the face of Wade’s taunts.  _How’s it feel being on the receiving end this time, fucker?_ “Only…” he took a step closer to Neville, reaching out with his free hand and placing it against the other’s arm, making one last ditch attempt to convince him, “…I was hoping to do this a little more privately, but well… I was wondering if you wanted to come along as my date, Nev?”

_WHAT. NO. No no no no no no no no no no no-_

Neville’s face had already gone bright red by the time Wade had fully comprehended what Aries had just said.

“Oh-!” Neville wasn’t exactly the most confident guy he knew, but Wade had never thought of him to be sort to fall for the ‘charms’ of someone like Aries. Could a few hollow compliments and the promise of drunken revelry really be  _that_ enticing to him?

Clearly it was, at least in some way, as a smile tugged at the corners of Neville’s mouth, a sight that almost tore Wade’s heart in two, as he nodded and murmured, “I’d like that…”

“Great!” Aries grinned triumphantly, leaning in to half-hug the other and place a kiss against his burning cheek. “I better go, gotta spread these like wildfire.” He held his stack of fliers high as if they were some sort of trophy. “See you there, Nev!” and with that, he head back off in the direction the two of them he had just come from.

Wade was left furiously glaring after him, his fists clenched in frustration, with his foul mood only worsening as the other paused for a moment, sensing Wade’s eyes on him, only to turn around and imitate a ‘jack off’ motion in his direction with his free hand and mouth the words  _“Go fuck yourself!”_ before he sneered, turned on his heels and disappeared down the corridor.


End file.
